This order - of 25 firm order and options of 25 more - will make Spicejet the largest turboprop aircraft operator in the country.

"We are already operating a fleet of 20 Q400s and will add another 25 by early 2020. The deliveries start during early 2018 and we will induct one aircraft per month till 2020," SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh told ET on the sidelines of Paris Air show.

He added that the aircraft would be used for regional connectivity as well providing connectivity in the neighboring international destinations.

"Our Q400s fly to Male and Dhaka as on today. We can connect to many more nearby international destinations to smaller cities like Varanasi-Kathmandu and many more," Singh further said.

The airline said that the Letter of Intent (LOI) includes 25 Q400 turboprops and purchase rights on an additional 25 aircraft. Based on the Q400 turboprop list price, an order could be valued at up to US $ 1.7B billion. This would be the single biggest order for the Q400, the airline said in a release.

Two and a half years after SpiceJet Ltd. was forced to ground its entire fleet on its inability to pay a mere $2.2 million in fuel bills, the budget airline has become the world’s best-performing airline stock — with $26 billion in plane orders to boot.

The company’s co-founder and Chairman Ajay Singh has played the white knight, injecting capital, cutting loss-making routes and aggressively adding capacity in one of the world’s fastest growing markets. To top it all off, crude prices are staying low.

For investors, that’s been a winning formula: SpiceJet shares are the best performers on a Bloomberg Intelligence index of airline stocks this year. The stock is up 124 percent in 2017 and has gained more than 800 percent since the company’s near-demise in December 2014, giving SpiceJet a market value of $1.2 billion.

The outlook for aviation stocks looks good “as long as oil prices are under control,” said Mahesh Patil, co-chief investment officer of Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co., which has $30 billion in assets. Birla held a stake of about 1.2 percent in SpiceJet as of May 31, according to Bloomberg data._________________

SpiceJet Ltd chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said on Friday the airline has no plans to bid for Air India.

“We are too small an airline to acquire Air India itself,” Singh said on the sidelines of the opening of SpiceJet’s range of stores in Gurugram called SpiceStyle, which will sell merchandise and help the airline increase ancillary revenue.

India's insistence on better and more flight slots for its carriers in Dubai's airport for increasing the seat capacity between the Emirate and India seems to be yielding results.

Spicejet has informed the civil aviation ministry that it got slots equalling 5,500 weekly seats at Dubai airport. This has come even before the two governments agreed to an increase in flying rights between them.

"They have informed us that they have slots. The airline, however, cannot start flights because our carriers have exhausted the current seat quota and would require an increase in bilateral seat entitlements before SpiceJet could utilise these slots," said an aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named.

India's insistence on better and more flight slots for its carriers in Dubai's airport for increasing the seat capacity between the Emirate and India seems to be yielding results.

Spicejet has informed the civil aviation ministry that it got slots equalling 5,500 weekly seats at Dubai airport. This has come even before the two governments agreed to an increase in flying rights between them.

"They have informed us that they have slots. The airline, however, cannot start flights because our carriers have exhausted the current seat quota and would require an increase in bilateral seat entitlements before SpiceJet could utilise these slots," said an aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named.

This is such a PR circus. I love that this is playing out in the press. No one other than aviation geeks like us care. How the Indian press is used as a tool (and probably paid tool) is both funny and sad.

I still say India should basically only give the option of merging the seat count so that there is one UAE quota (and that too on the condition of slots in Dubai being available). This is the only way the UAE will see more pax coming to their country. If their individual kingdoms can't play nice with each other why is that India's concern? India has the power in the situation - USE IT. And if the UAE allows this, it is a win for both (instead of the usual India gave more and got less).

SpiceJet has begun an order contest between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE for wide-body aircraft, in the strongest indication yet that it will go ahead with a move into discount long-distance flights.

The carrier is evaluating the U.S. manufacturer’s biggest 787-10 Dreamliner together with Airbus’s A350-1000, Ajay Singh, its chairman, told Bloomberg TV in London Thursday.

SpiceJet is considering the introduction of flights to more distant markets including Europe, but needs Boeing and Airbus to come up with proposals to minimize costs, Singh said in an interview at the 2017 Aviation Festival. The carrier’s jetliner order book is limited to 175 Boeing 737 narrow-body planes.

India has the potential to be a “tremendous’” long-haul market, “if you can work out the math and bring down the cost,” Singh said. While the nation of 1.3 billion people is the world’s fastest growing aviation market, expanding at a 20 percent annual clip, it also remains “incredibly price sensitive,” he said.

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l) is set to further diversify its business model through the proposed introduction of amphibian/seaplane operations.

According to The Times of India, the Indian budget carrier is scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Setouchi Holdings during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit next week. The terms of the deal were not revealed.

In addition to owning the Idaho-based manufacturer of the Quest Kodiak 100, Quest Aircraft (Sandpoint), Setouchi Holdings is the parent firm of Japanese operators Setouchi Seaplanes (SSN) and Sky Trek Airlines. Though both utilize Kodiak 100s, the former employs the amphibian version for air charters while the latter employs the regular wheel-based variant for subscription-based taxi flights._________________

With its founders Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy and promoter firm RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd facing a CBI probe for allegedly concealing a share transaction, NDTV is set to change hands, it is learnt. Sources confirmed to The Indian Express that Ajay Singh, co-founder and owner of SpiceJet who was part of the BJP’s 2014 poll campaign, has picked up majority holding in the news channel. When asked if NDTV has been sold to SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh, the source said, “Yes, the deal has been finalised and Ajay Singh will take control of NDTV along with editorial rights.”

On June 5, the CBI conducted searches at the residences of the Roys. Calling the raids a “blatant attack on the freedom of the press,” NDTV, in a statement, said that the CBI had filed its FIR based on a “shoddy complaint” by a “disgruntled” former NDTV consultant who has not obtained a “single order from the courts.”

According to the source, Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director for SpiceJet, will have controlling stake in NDTV of around 40 per cent and the promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy will hold around 20 per cent in the company.

According to the data available with BSE, the promoter holding in NDTV as of June 2017 stood at 61.45 per cent. Public shareholding in the company stands at 38.55 per cent. The source said that Ajay Singh will also pick up NDTV’s debt of over Rs 400 crore and the total deal is valued at around Rs 600 crore.

A part of the cash (up to Rs 100 crore) will also go to the Roys.

When asked about the NDTV deal, a SpiceJet official said “it’s absolutely false and baseless.” Messages and emails sent to NDTV officials did not elicit any response.

A first-generation entrepreneur, Singh acquired SpiceJet in January 2015 and has turned it around. Having coined BJP’s 2014 campaign slogan “abki baar Modi Sarkar,” Singh served as OSD to Pramod Mahajan during the first NDA government. It was in this period that he played an active role in the launch of DD Sports and was also behind the planning of DD News. Singh played a role in 2014 Lok Sabha campaign of the BJP as part of the core advertising/campaigning team.

In 1996, he was asked to serve on the Board of Delhi Transport Corporation and prepare a plan to revamp DTC. He is known to have played a key role in its turnaround and in the two and a half years that he spent at DTC, its fleet rose from 300 to about 6000. He also turned around the grounded ModiLuft and renamed and launched it as SpiceJet
An alumnus of Delhi’s St. Columba’s school, Singh is a graduate of IIT Delhi, an MBA from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) from Law Faculty, University of Delhi.

Convenient connections to Delhi and Mumbai available with these timings.

As a result, Hyderabad-Mangalore nonstop will be terminated once again, with the last flight departing 15AUG.

What a pointless flight!

What can the demand be between these two cities?

Just because it is under Udaan and is subsidized by the govt does not mean that these companies can start routes with zero demand._________________I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

Convenient connections to Delhi and Mumbai available with these timings.

As a result, Hyderabad-Mangalore nonstop will be terminated once again, with the last flight departing 15AUG.

What a pointless flight!

What can the demand be between these two cities?

Just because it is under Udaan and is subsidized by the govt does not mean that these companies can start routes with zero demand.

Hyderabad - Mangalore has not been terminated, it is still operational.

As far demand - HYD to Jabalpur was introduced and it has caught on and also HYD to Madurai, which is still going strong. So unless the airline tries, one cannot determine especially on the newer routes, could be potential for connection traffic.

Some airline tried BLR-Pondicherry and MAA-Salem, but they were cancelled due to lack of traffic. They should try BLR-Tiruchy, it may have greater potential. I guess in air traffic distance matters, cities which are too close do not have the potential.

Convenient connections to Delhi and Mumbai available with these timings.

As a result, Hyderabad-Mangalore nonstop will be terminated once again, with the last flight departing 15AUG.

What a pointless flight!

What can the demand be between these two cities?

Just because it is under Udaan and is subsidized by the govt does not mean that these companies can start routes with zero demand.

I think this is not really meant for HYD-PNY but rather to connect PNY to the rest of India and the world. I guess MAA was too close to justify the flight. There must be some demand between HYD-PNY and/or SpiceJet has a big enough presence in HYD that PNY gets connected to a large number of cities one stop. To me this is what these type of small city programs should do.

As far demand - HYD to Jabalpur was introduced and it has caught on...

At least for the HYD-JLR route, I can say this with quite a bit of certainty. The demand was there, and that is why not one but two airlines introduced flights on the route. Much before Air India Regional had the capacity, and SpiceJet had introduced this flight, a casual chat with an industry insider told me that the numebrs were there. Jabalpur in general is a medium-yield destination, so the AT7-Q4 type of planes do well. There is some decent demand from Jabalpur as such, and yes, Delhi and Mumbai are the top grossers, but HYD has a decent demand as well. Industry insiders typically study passenger movement patterns with alternative modes of transport as well. Air India Regional's basing an AT7-6 in BHO for regional connectivity was only a matter of time, when they got an aircraft for the purpose.
Cheers, Sumantra.

Convenient connections to Delhi and Mumbai available with these timings.

As a result, Hyderabad-Mangalore nonstop will be terminated once again, with the last flight departing 15AUG.

What a pointless flight!

What can the demand be between these two cities?

Just because it is under Udaan and is subsidized by the govt does not mean that these companies can start routes with zero demand.

Are you sure though that there is absolutely no demand for a flight like this...? Because it seems too presumptious to begin with that argument right out of the bat.

Secondly, Spicejet announced it was not taking any subsidy or VGF for any of these flights - so there must be some reason why they are super confident. Maybe, the no competition on these routes mandated under UDAN might be helping...?

Either way, Spicejet will be commencing their next UDAN route very shortly - Delhi-Jaipur-Jaisalmer._________________<a><img></a>

Either way, Spicejet will be commencing their next UDAN route very shortly - Delhi-Jaipur-Jaisalmer.

I am actually looking forward to this neat route: DEL-JAI is always going to be a big grosser. Jaisalmer gets a huge tourist demand (though it is a bit seasonal: the summers do not see that much patronisation, for obvious reasons). The UDAN connection may serve to increase the demand, and SG will possibly do well, given that they have the right aircraft for the route as well. SG haven't loaded this onto their schedules yet.
Cheers, Sumantra.

Just because it is under Udaan and is subsidized by the govt does not mean that these companies can start routes with zero demand.

So far, it seems Spicejet may be vindicated by their choice -

For the month of August - Hyderabad-Puducherry saw 1,139 pax out of 1,170 seats - a load of 97%, while Puducherry-Hyderabad saw 1,069 pax out of 1,170 seats - a load of 91%.

Even Spicejet's other routes (Mumbai-Kandla/Porbandar) have yet to achieve such loads (these flights are not doing too bad - 80%+ average LF)

Source - DGCA data for August 2017.

zubin wrote:

Have they said when they will launch the Delhi - Jaipur - Jaisalmer route?

zubin

They haven't mentioned it publicly yet - but Spicejet has put Jaisalmer onto their booking engine, with Delhi and Jaipur as possible destinations. They may load the flight for sale in a few weeks time._________________<a><img></a>

Spicejet is terminating Chandigarh-Jaipur/Jammu/Hyderabad and Jammu-Dehradun, due to Chandigarh's runway closure.

Spicejet has extended these flights for the Winter Season, however Bengaluru-Coimbatore and Bengaluru-Madurai will receive new timings

[*] 6 weekly Bengaluru-Coimbatore

SG3465 BLR1130 - 1225CJB DH4 x2

SG3466 CJB1255 - 1400BLR DH4 x2

[*] 6 weekly Bengaluru-Madurai

SG3467 BLR1430 - 1545IXM DH4 x2

SG3468 IXM1605 - 1720BLR DH4 x2

abhijith16 wrote:

They haven't mentioned it publicly yet - but Spicejet has put Jaisalmer onto their booking engine, with Delhi and Jaipur as possible destinations. They may load the flight for sale in a few weeks time.

Spicejet has opened new flights from Jaipur and Jaisalmer for sale effective 29OCT

SpiceJet finalized a purchase agreement with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft for up to 50 Q400 Turboprop aircraft worth $1.7 billion at list prices. This is the largest ever order for Q400 Turboprop and SpiceJet will be the launch customer globally of the extra-capacity, 90-seater Q400.

The purchase agreement includes 25 Q400 turboprops and purchase rights on an additional 25 aircraft. SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said: "I am pleased to confirm SpiceJet's latest order for up to 50 Bombardier Q400 planes that was announced in the Paris Airshow. I am sure this fresh order will further enhance connectivity to smaller towns and cities and help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ensuring that every Indian can fly."

"SpiceJet operates India's largest regional fleet and has always been a firm believer in the growth story of India's smaller towns and cities. We have worked hard over the years to put these smaller towns on the country's aviation map and will strive do the same in the times to come," Singh added.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer said: "We are very proud to firm up this agreement with SpiceJet as it is another demonstration of the Q400's unique versatility. This repeat order will not only increase the Q400 aircraft fleet in the fast-growing regional market in India and in the Asia-Pacific region but will also launch the high-density 90-passenger model. This order confirms the airlines' increased capacity needs on regional routes with high passenger demand and demonstrates the increased profitability potential that this unique turboprop configuration has to offer."

SpiceJet has taken delivery of 15 Q400 aircraft since 2010 and it currently operates 20 Q400 aircraft in a 78-seat configuration to domestic and international destinations. SpiceJet had earlier this year placed an order for up to 225 narrow and wide-body jets with Boeing.

SpiceJet has issued a stark warning to Boeing about the 787 Dreamliner, insisting that the next-generation plane is too expensive to catalyze demand in the low-cost long-haul (LCLH) market.

Chairman Ajay Singh says he sees merit in the LCLH business model pioneered by Norwegian Air Shuttle, but only if leasing costs come down for operators.

“It’s a pricing issue,” Singh tells me. “As a concept I think there is potential in this low-cost long-haul business. But to make the fares lower and to offer it profitably, you need to ensure that your costs are significantly lower. And, at the price points at which these aircraft are today, we find that’s a bit of a challenge.”_________________

SpiceJet is in talks with Japan’s Setouchi Holdings Inc. to buy amphibious plane to increase remote area connectivity in India, the airline said on Wednesday.

The low-fare airline is exploring the introduction of small 10 and 14 seater amphibious plane in places where there are infrastructural challenges.

“With the ability to land in a small or confined space, smaller fixed wing aircraft are the perfect flying machines that can effectively connect the country’s remote cities and airstrips which can in turn revolutionize the regional connectivity scheme,” SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said in a statement.

“Even while we are acknowledged as one of the world’s fastest growing markets, the ground reality remains that only about 3% Indians travel by air. Infrastructural challenges have been a key deterrent for providing air connectivity to smaller towns and cities.”

“Under this association, we have already executed land plane demonstrations in Nagpur and Guwahati. As a next step, we would also like to go for seaplane demonstration soon,” said Go Okazaki, executive managing director, Setouchi Holdings Inc.

SpiceJet plans to purchase more than 100 amphibian planes, estimated to cost USD 400 million, as the no-frills airline looks to boost regional operations, its chief Ajay Singh said today.

With regard to purchase of the up to 14-seater amphibian aircraft, that can operate on land as well as on water bodies, SpiceJet has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japans Setouchi Holdings.

Announcing its plans to enhance regional operations, Singh said the MoU is to explore whether the amphibian planes can be used by the airline in a cost effective manner.

"If it is done, it will be done in excess of 100 planes," he said in response to a query on how many amphibian aircraft would be ordered.

Noting that these aircraft are not expensive, he said one amphibian plane costs around USD 4 million. This would translate to a total amount of more than USD 400 million (about Rs 2,600 crore) for over 100 such planes.

"We are studying the commercial viability (of this project). SpiceJet will get involved whatever the structure might be... directly, separately or as part of travel vertical," the airlines Chairman and Managing Director said, adding that the interests of states have also to be assessed.

He was responding to queries about the structure that would be in place to operate amphibian planes.

Speaking to reporters here, Singh said if things move ahead, then the project would be done in one year.

if one is to follow this report, then the aircraft in question could very well be Quest Kodiak.

Quote:

Japanese Company Setouchi Buys Quest Aircraft

Sandpoint, Idaho-based Quest Aircraft is making plans to gradually increase production and firm up concepts for a second aircraft in its product line under new ownership. The company was sold February 17 to Japanese firm Setouchi Holdings. Setouchi plans to keep the current leadership intact and continue manufacturing in Sandpoint.

SpiceJet has abandoned previously announced plans to lease in two B787-8s this winter for use in starting long haul, low-cost flights to Europe. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ajay Singh told Forbes magazine the Indian budget carrier would instead focus on narrowbody aircraft for the foreseeable future.

On that note, Singh said Boeing would have to dramatically cut prices on its B787 offerings if budget operators such as SpiceJet are to embrace the longhaul niche. Earlier this year, Singh alluded to studying the B787-10 from Boeing and the A350-1000 from Airbus but gave no firm commitment to entering the market.

“As a concept I think there is potential in this low-cost long-haul business," he said. "But to make the fares lower and to offer it profitably, you need to ensure that your costs are significantly lower. And, at the price points at which these aircraft are today, we find that’s a bit of a challenge.”

If and when SpiceJet does eventually make its longhaul debut, Singh said it would target leisure destinations such as Denpasar, Singapore Changi, and Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok as well as cities with large Indian diaspora communities such as London and Birmingham Int'l in the United KIngdom. _________________